REVIEW: Los Bitchos bring riotous energy to Manchester's latest venue
26.09.2022 - 17:17
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what made Los Bitchos the obvious choice to top the bill at tonight’s New Century Hall opening party - or at a party of any description, really.
The four-piece - founded and based in London, but drawn from Australia, Uruguay, Sweden and the UK - have become one of 2022’s breakthrough indie success stories, thanks to their unique, tequila-infused blend of everything from surf rock to Turkish psych, as well as their riotous live shows. It’s an energy that was smartly captured on their aptly-titled debut album, Let the Festivities Begin! , back in February.
Tonight, they’re actually bringing a close to the celebrations, at a launch party for the revived New Century Hall that brings the curtain down on a week that also saw turns from The Charlatans and, poignantly, John Cooper Clarke. The latter was once turned away from a Jimi Hendrix show at the the venue in its sixties heyday for not wearing a tie, which must have been one of the few times in recorded history the usually crisply-suited punk poet was caught without one.
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For all the Hall’s illustrious heritage, though, and as lovingly preserved as its wood-panelled walls are, a quick glance over the coming months’ gig listings suggests that this is to be a forward-thinking venue, with touches like the eye-catching illuminated ceiling confirming it. It’s fitting, then, that support should come from genuine up-and-comers in the form of Welsh outfits Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and The Bug Club, the latter in particular promising plenty with their incendiary brand of crackling psych-pop marking them out as ones to watch.
It sets